


The Fate of Men

by silvertrails



Series: A Creature of Two Worlds [19]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 23:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17569652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvertrails/pseuds/silvertrails
Summary: Elladan's former lover dies...





	The Fate of Men

**The Fate of Men  
By CC   
February, 2009**

This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe on the rights of J.R.R. Tolkien. No profit is made and no harm is intended. 

This ficlet takes place two years after A Creature of Two Worlds. Elladan is 202 years old. Ormil is the chief of the stable hands. I created him as part of Elrond’s staff.

* * *

_“I will never be gone. Whenever you urge Elgaer to a gallop, whenever the wind tastes of adventure, whenever the sun kisses your skin, I will be there with you, my love. That part of you will never die, even if you leave Ennorath forever.”_

_Dresdel, in “A Creature of Two Worlds”_

 

Glorfindel urged Asfaloth to a gallop, struggling to catch up with Elladan. The Peredhel had left the vale mere minutes before Ormil had warned Glorfindel about it. He needed to find Elladan, and fast. Glorfindel wished their mental link allowed words and not only emotions. Death was never easy, and it was worse when you believed that you could have done something to prevent it. An image of Ecthelion crying over Arakano’s body came to Glorfindel’s mind, and he shivered, pushing it to the back of his mind.

When Glorfindel reached the last fork in the road, he could no longer feel Elladan. How could Elgaer gallop so fast? The horse would die of exhaustion at this rate. Glorfindel took the northern path, and after forcing Asfaloth to the limits for a few miles, he found Elladan’s mind again. It scared him. 

Elladan’s spirit was in complete turmoil. Anger and rebelliousness warred with pain and despair in a dangerous dance that was clouding Elladan’s reasoning. What scared Glorfindel more was the sudden image of his lover, galloping toward the Ettenmoors with an empty look in his eyes. 

“Call for Elgaer, Asfaloth,” Glorfindel whispered desperately. “Call him, make him slow down. Elladan will hurt himself at this rate.”

Asfaloth sprinted forward, barely giving Glorfindel time to hold onto him. The emotions raging inside Elladan’s spirit were still strong, but his attention was now on Elgaer’s speed. Glorfindel breathed a sigh of relief, and quietly thanked his mount. 

The Bruinen’s song was deep and wild as Glorfindel approached the river. Was Ulmo raging against the darkness in the upland forest? Hill-Trolls - a vestige of Morgoth's malice - dwelt in Ettenmoors. Only a few Men dared to cross the river and enter the forest in search of wood. Dresdel had been one of them.

After riding upriver for a while, Glorfindel finally found Elladan standing beside Elgaer, while the horse drank from the river. There was a canteen in Elladan’s hand, but his eyes were fixed on the other bank. Glorfindel dismounted, and came to stand beside his lover. 

“Dresdel was right,” Elladan said after a while, eyes still fixed on the other bank. “He said that death would be painful."

“He loved you,” Glorfindel said quietly, “and wanted to spare you this grief.”

“But I wanted to be there for him! I wanted to hold his hand and tell him he needn’t be afraid. He wasn’t supposed to die alone! It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”

Glorfindel wanted to embrace his lover and hold him close, but he knew that all Elladan could bear right now was his silent support.

“Death is not a Gift!” Elladan continued. “Death means pain, and sadness. How can Men bear it? How can they go on knowing they will die too soon?”

“Their lives seem to be short to us, but maybe it feels different to them. I don’t know, Dan. All I know is that their path is different from ours.”

Elladan turned to look at him. “Is that supposed to ease the pain?”

Glorfindel said nothing. 

“And what is my path, Laurë?” Elladan pressed on. “What if death comes? Will I go to the Halls? Will I leave the circles of the world?”

_I don’t know…_

“You don’t know the answer.” Elladan lifted a hand to touch Glorfindel’s cheek. “I am hurting you again, Laurë. I’m not good company today, love. You should leave me. I feel the need to lash out, and I don’t want to lash out at you.”

“I will not leave you,” Glorfindel said. “And if you lash out at me, I will still hold you close and wait for the storm to pass. I will stay here with you, until you are ready to come back home.”

Elladan sighed. “And if it takes weeks, or months?”

Glorfindel moved closer, framing Elladan’s face with his hands. “Then I will wait weeks or months, but please don’t ask me to leave. I can’t do that, Dan.”

Elladan closed his eyes briefly. “Then stay with me, and forgive my strange mood. You are my lover, and I want nothing but to be in your arms. My mind is in turmoil, and my spirit rages against the fate of Men. It also rages against Dresdel’s fate, because I know that he would have been safe had I been with him.”

“You cannot know that,” Glorfindel said quietly. 

“But I will never know, will I?” Elladan asked softly. “Dresdel lived to the full and risked his life at every turn. He was like the wind… Nobody could cage him…”

_Or you, my love..._

Glorfindel slid his arms around Elladan’s waist and pulled him close, kissing his forehead. He knew how Elladan felt, because Glorfindel had felt the same when Arakano died. This was different, though, because unlike Ecthelion, Elladan had not lost his lover. This was different for Glorfindel too, because Elladan was his soul mate.


End file.
